The half-life of a piece
of content shared on top social networks Twitter and Facebook is 3 hours. (Half-life is the amount of time it takes content to reach 50% of the clicks it will ever receive). Source: Bit.ly Customers TWEET THIS!

The global rate of extreme
poverty fell to 20.6 percent, less than half the 1990 rate of 43.1 percent. Resources Source: World Bank, 2013 TWEET THIS!

The average number of sources
of content consumed by a shopper in a purchase doubled from 2010 to 2011 going from 5 to 10 pieces of content consumed. Source: Google Customers TWEET THIS!

Worldwide, more than 3 billion
people are working, but nearly half work in farming, small household enterprises, or in casual or seasonal day labor. Source: World Bank Jobs Report, 2012 Employment TWEET THIS!

More than 70% of customers
surveyed believe small businesses understand their customer better than large companies, know their business/product better than large companies, provide a more personal customer service experience than large companies and are more concerned about my needs than larger companies.” Source: : American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, 2012 Customers TWEET THIS!

Gen Y will form 75%
of the workforce by 2025 and are actively shaping corporate culture and expectations. Only 11% define having a lot of money as a definition of success. Source: Brian Solis’ Future of Business, 2013 Employment TWEET THIS!

The world population has more
than doubled over the past 50 years and it will exceed 9 billion people by the 2040s. Change Source: Rand Corporation, 2011 TWEET THIS!

The number of pieces of
mail delivered by the US postal service dropped from 250 Million in 2006 to 50 Million in 2012. Source: USPS Change TWEET THIS!

The percentage of companies new
to the Fortune 1000 has grown from 35% (1973- 1983) to 45% (1984-1993) to 60% (1994-2003) to over 70% (2004-2013) in each of the last 4 decades. Source: Brian Solis’ Future of Business, 2013 Change TWEET THIS!

The amount of time parents
spend with their children continues to go up in the US. Fathers have nearly tripled their time with children since 1965. Mothers’ time with children has also increased, and today’s mothers spend more time with their children than mothers did in the 1960s. Source: Pew Research Center, 2013 Resources TWEET THIS!

The population living in urban
areas is projected to increase from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion 2050. Change Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs TWEET THIS!

On average, the world has
become a little happier in the last 30 years. Health care, education and income have the biggest impact on life satisfaction. Source: World Happiness Report, 2012 Change TWEET THIS!

60% of US consumers agree,
“Technology has made us feel more connected” while 40% agree, “Technology has made us feel more isolated from each other.” Source: Yankelovich MONITOR Technology TWEET THIS!

The average US adult spends
141 minutes a day using mobile devices. Source: Advertising Age Mobile Fact Pack, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

The projected share of world
population with smartphones in 2014 is 24%. Source: Advertising Age Mobile Fact Pack, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

January to June 2013, global
demand for smartphones rose by 66% compared with the same period in the previous year, while the market for conventional mobile phones shrank by 25%. Source: GfK Roper WW, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

85 percent - share of
smartphones as a proportion of all mobile devices is also the highest in China. Source: Advertising Age Mobile Fact Pack, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

The connected home segment will
grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 percent between 2012 and 2017 to reach 10.7-million shipments in five years. Source: GIGAom, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

In the next 5 years,
revenues from the sales of connected home systems will increase from $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion. Technology Source: GIGAom, 2013 TWEET THIS!

By 2017, there will be
close to $11 Billion in revenue from 35-million homes using home automation platforms across the globe. Source: GIGAom, 2013 Technology TWEET THIS!

Asian students account for 53%
of all students studying abroad worldwide - the largest numbers of international students are from China, India and Korea. Source: Pew Research Center, 2013] Resources TWEET THIS!

In 1990, girls’ primary school
enrollment rate in developing countries was only 86 percent of boys’. By 2011 it was 97 percent. Source: World Bank, 2013 Resources TWEET THIS!

The developing world’s cities are
expected to see massive growth, drawing 96 percent of the additional 1.4 billion people by 2030. Source: World Bank, 2013 Resources TWEET THIS!

87% of global consumers believe
business should place at least equal emphasis on social interests as business interests, and ‘purpose’ has increased as a purchase trigger by 26% since 2008. Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2013 Customers TWEET THIS!

While 50% of Americans trust
businesses to do what is right, only 15% trust business leaders to tell the truth. Customers Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2013 TWEET THIS!

Only 34% of workers say,
“Employees [in their company] have a high level of trust in management and the organization. Customers Source: Interaction Associates TWEET THIS!

In 2012, only 37% of
US companies earned a customer experience index rating of “excellent” or “good.” Customers Source: Forrester TWEET THIS!

67% of US organizations say
that improving customer experiences is one of their top three priorities. Customers Source: Forrester TWEET THIS!

80% of big companies described
themselves as delivering “superior” service, but only 8% of customers say they’ve experienced “superior” service from these companies. Source: The New Yorker Customers TWEET THIS!

In the past year, two
in five consumers or more in most markets indicate that they have not completed a transaction or made an intended purchase because of poor customer service. Source: American Express Global Customer Service Barometer Customers TWEET THIS!

In Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
terms, India became the third largest economy in the world in 2011, behind the United States and China, and pushing Japan to the fourth spot. Source: World Bank, 2013 Employment TWEET THIS!

Just to keep employment rates
constant, the worldwide number of jobs will have to increase by around 600 million over a 15-year period. Source: World Bank Jobs Report, 2012 Employment TWEET THIS!

India will add a million
new workers every month for the next two decades. This is equivalent to the entire population of Sweden joining the labor force in India every year for the next two decades. Source: World Bank, 2013 Employment TWEET THIS!